Staff
Brett StraderExecutive Director
Brett Strader is a musician and arts leader. On his way to earning a B.M. in piano performance and a M.M. in orchestral conducting, he built a career as an arranger and composer. Brett is the founding Artistic Director of Sing For America in San Francisco, a 10-year old community-based chorus that raises funds for its singers’ chosen charities. Brett is a frequent guest musical director for Lamplighters Music Theater and the Resident Musical Director for Pacific Coast Repertory Theater in Pleasanton where he also served on the Board of Directors, including a term as President. For nine years Brett led a large and diverse music department at Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church and in 2020 he conducted the San Antonio Symphony and Chorus in the premier performances of his original musical Remember (with book and lyrics by W. Blake Winchell). Brett and his wife, harpist Krista Strader, have lived in the Bay Area for 17 years. |
Aaron LingtonArtistic Director
Grammy Award-winning baritone saxophonist and composer Aaron Lington has performing and compositional credits include collaborations with the San Francisco Symphony, Maynard Ferguson, the BBC Radio Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, Doc Severinsen, Bo Diddley, Randy Brecker, Joe Lovano, Jamie Davis, Tommy Igoe, Pacific Mambo Orchestra, and many others. In addition, he has won awards for both his playing and writing from Downbeat Magazine, ASCAP, and was the 2003 recipient of the Sammy Nestico Award. He was named the 2011 “Jazz Educator of the Year” by the California Music Educators Association, and has been recognized multiple times in the both the Downbeat Magazine Critic’s Poll and Reader’s Poll. In 2015 he was named Silicon Valley Artist Laureate. |
Michael HatfieldProduction Director
Michael Hatfield began playing vibraphone in high school because none of the other percussionists in the orchestra wanted to take it on. When he found out he could actually play the melody, but still hit the darn thing, a love affair ensued, and still continues. Michael studied with Gary Burton at Berklee College of Music, and then taught there for several years before taking up residence in San Francisco. There is no music that Hatfield has not taken on during his residency in the Bay Area, and if it involves serious laughing, playing “cartoon fusion” or if it involves a puddle of tears when performing “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” then Michael is on the right bandstand. Michael has several recordings on iTunes with his band “The Mallet Band” and is featured on several movie sound tracks and commercial jingles. He has way too much fun performing the music he loves, and is always amazed he makes a living doing it. Michael is one of the handiest, most versatile musicians in the Bay Area. He leads several bands ranging from a jazz trio to big band, from electronica to country. He teaches vocal improvisation, music theory, and the business of music. He co-owns and runs Hatfield & Walker, a sound, lighting, av and backline business and finds time to cultivate a sweet life with his wife, Valerie, and three kids. “At any moment, you are never more than a half step away from a right note.” That’s his point, and for him it’s true. |
Ian CareySocial Media Director
Ian Carey is a jazz trumpeter, composer, and graphic designer who has been active in the Bay Area arts scene since 2001. His musical projects include his Quintet+1 and the chamber ensemble Wood/Metal/Plastic. As a composer, he has received commissions from Chamber Music America and Intermusic SF. As a sideman, he has performed with bandleaders including John Daversa, Sam Bevan, Anton Schwartz, Satoko Fujii, Anthony Brown, Nathan Clevenger, Lewis Jordan, Mark Levine, Anne Sajdera, and Adam Shulman; and in ensembles including the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, the Circus Bella All-Star Band, the Morchestra, and the duo B Experimental Band. As a designer, illustrator, and social media consultant, he specializes in working with musicians and arts organizations. |
STU ROSENBERGLegal Advisor
Stuart Rosenberg is a partner in the Palo Alto office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where his practice focuses on patent litigation and related counseling. Stu works with clients in tech and life sciences to defend their products and protect their intellectual property. He earned his law degree at Stanford Law School after college at Yale University, where he majored in Physics and Philosophy. When Stu is not in the office, he plays guitar with several bands in the Bay Area, including Halsey & The Hi-Hats, Contigo, and Metalmucil. |
Board of Directors
Rodman Marymor
Founder and Chairman
David Poe
Secretary & Treasurer
Pamela Rose
Kevin Eng
Tom Hemphill
Founder and Chairman
David Poe
Secretary & Treasurer
Pamela Rose
Kevin Eng
Tom Hemphill